This invention relates to a telephone holder comprising at least one locking element which moves when pushed by a telephone inserted in the holder, and a guiding surface located against the locking element to wedge a locking claw in the locking element against the side of the telephone in such a manner that the claw locks the telephone into the holder.
Especially in a car it is needed a holder for a mobile phone where the phone can be kept in such a manner that the phone can be reached by the driver during a drive. The holder should include locking elements which hold the phone in its place so that it cannot drop off the holder during a drive while at the same time the holder must be such that the phone can be inserted in it and removed from it with a simple move of the hand.
A known telephone holder for car use is disclosed in published FI patent application 89650. That holder comprises two shell-like parts jointed onto each other in a turnable manner, said parts being positioned one within the other so that the inner part constitutes a mount for the phone and the outer part serves as stationary attachment part of the holder. Locking of the phone is in this holder arranged in such a manner that on both sides of the holder's inner part there is a flexible strip-like element which is attached at its bottom part to the holder and the tip of which forms a protruding locking claw which is wedged into a hollow on the side of the phone by a pressing surface on the outer part of the holder when the parts of the holder are turned with respect to each other. The joint pin between the parts of the holder serves as a retainer for the bottom part of the phone, and the phone is attached by using the phone supported by the pin as pushing means that turns the inner part of the holder with respect to the outer part. The parts of the holder are locked with respect to each other by a separate spring catch wherefrom the phone can be removed with a light pull when needed.
Because of the large parts movable with respect to each other the holder according to the published FI patent application 89650 is clumsy and its open unprotected construction is susceptible to failure. Especially for car use it would be advantageous to produce a more compact and rigid holder construction that would tolerate knocks and would facilitate easy attachment and removal of phone in addition to holding the phone reliably in its place in all circumstances.
The telephone holder according to the invention that meets the aforementioned objects is characterized in that the holder comprises an inner shell part serving as a mount for the phone, and an outer shell part which is stationary with respect to said inner shell part and includes a guiding surface so that a locking element is located between those parts and is movable with respect to them, that the inner shell part has a hole at a location corresponding to that of the locking element so that a locking claw is pushed against the side of the phone through said hole, and that the locking element includes a thrust block such that when said thrust block is pushed the phone forces the locking element into the locked position.
Instead of the flexible strip in the inner shell part according to the published FI patent application 89650 the locking element in the holder according to the invention comprises a separate moving element which is substantially encapsulated between the inner shell part and the opposing stationary outer part. Said outer part may together with the inner shell part form a continuous housing which is closed except for the hole in the inner shell part required by the locking element's locking claw and thrust block. This way a rigid, durable construction can be provided in which a locking element and the spring catch, which locks the locking element into the locked position, are well protected.
The locking element's thrust block, which is pushed by the phone, and the locking claw may be located successively in the pushing direction in a hole formed in the inner shell part of the housing. The connecting part between the thrust block and locking claw is advantageously a flexible shaft pushed by the guiding surface to wedge the locking claw against the side of the phone, into a hollow corresponding to the locking claw and positioned suitably on the side of the phone. Locking of the phone into the holder is preferably realized on both sides of the phone by means of mutually symmetric locking elements located on the opposite sides of the holder.
Pushing the phone into the locking position is advantageously realized against a spring such that when the locking element is freed from said position the spring unlocks the phone from the holder. Locking of the locking element into the locked position is caused by a catch in the holder which may be connected to a push lever with which the locking elements can be unlocked from the catch in such a manner that thereafter spring force causes the phone to be released from the holder. The catch, too, is spring-operated, and a preferred embodiment of the invention is characterized in that the holder is equipped with a double torsion spring connected by its ends to locking elements on the opposing sides of the holder in such a manner that the pushing movement of the locking elements is directed against the ends of the spring while at the same time the middle part of the spring is pressing a shaft by means of which the locking elements are locked in their places in the locked position.
To guide the return movement of a locking element freed from the locked position the inner shell part of the holder advantageously includes a guiding surface which makes the locking claw to retreat from the hollow on the side of the phone. The phone, which thus has been unlocked, can be lifted off the holder.